Underneath
by damask.x
Summary: The war has ended, but the land is still rich with strife. Katara is sent by the southern water tribe to spy in the Fire Nation Capital, disguised as a servant. But she's not the only one lurking in the shadows...
1. Chapter 1: Here We Are

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, etc etc, I just wish I did.

-x-

"I hate this!" Sokka stalked angrily out of the council room, slipping on a patch of ice while he fumed. "You think it's safe to send my sister into the Fire Nation? To _spy_? Undercover? Surrounded by men?" Hokada ran after his son.

"Sokka, Katara knows what she's doing. She's a powerful bender, and she'd be easy to disguise. Girls, especially servants, are often overlooked in the Fire Nation," he panted, trying to catch up.

Sokka turned around to face his father. "You think it's a good idea? You're willing to risk her life, _again_, just for some stupid rumor that you THINK is true? Some father you are! Why can't we just ask Ozai what's happening? I thought we had an _alliance_ with the Fire Nation." Hokada frowned at his son.

"The alliance is all but completely vanished. The water tribe ambassadors stationed in the palace have reported back that things are not looking up. The Fire Nation is plotting something. We can't just sit back and wait for it to happen. We owe it to ourselves, and to the Earth Kingdom, to find out what's going on before it's too late," Hokada explained. He placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "I know it's tough to imagine Katara out in the world. But she's twenty years old – more than old enough to fend for herself."

"But Dad… we don't even have any solid proof. If the Fire Nation discovers that we don't trust them... what if they're not conspiring? Think about what could happen to Katara!"

"Think about what could happen to her, to all of us, if we don't stop this before it's too late."

Sokka followed his father back to the council room.

-x-

Katara was pacing rapidly down the hallway, chewing her lip. It had been six years since she'd last seen combat, since she'd last had to lie to save her skin. It had been six years since she'd been in any real danger. And now here she was, purposely bringing herself into a position to get killed.

_It's for the good of my country_, she thought to herself. _What if the Fire Nation is really plotting? I have meaning; they trust me to do this. I can do this. I can do this. Won't someone recognize me? There aren't exactly a lot of blue-eyed firebenders. Crap. This is a horrible idea. CRAP! _

She walked in one direction down the hall, to her brother's room. He was on his bed, and he turned to face her.

"Now, Katara. I don't care how charming some fire nation noble-whatever may be – you have to watch out for those little skeeze-balls, because all men want the same thing, BELIEVEEE ME, they just want –"

Rolling her eyes, she tried to interrupt Sokka's lecture. "Sokka, I'm _perfectly_ capable of resisting the temptation of any smooth-talking –"

"You won't need to worry about resisting the temptation – Toph will be coming along to make _sure_ you resist temptation." Sokka smiled broadly, congratulating himself on finding such a simple solution to the grand problem.

"Toph? Toph is coming?" Katara could barely contain her excitement; it'd been years since she'd seen Toph.

"Not coming, came. She's got a room down the hallway. Try not to hurt yourself on the way there," Sokka advised, but the words were lost on Katara, as she was already down the hallway, screeching loudly. _Girls_.

"Toph! Toph!" she squealed, running into her friends arms. Toph had grown a lot since Katara had last seen her. At the ripe old age of eighteen, however, she was still considered short, and Katara had to bend to hug her. Toph sighed.

"Gee, Sugar Queen. I don't know how you live here, do you people _like_ torture? This ice is horrible. The faster we can get to the fire nation, the better. It might be hot there, but at least they had enough taste to settle on actual _ground_." Katara shoved her playfully, and the two walked out, chattering amongst themselves.

-x-

Soon enough, Toph and Katara were on a ship, setting sail for the fire nation, befitted in the clothes of fire nation servants. A light powder on Katara's face made her nose itch; it was supposed to disguise the tan of her skin. She looked at Toph.

Toph sighed.

-x-

Disembarking from the ship, they were herded off into the crowd, and led to a carriage which would take them to the Palace.

"Get in." The man looked around, checking for danger. He was clearly a fire bender like most others in the town, and he quickly ushered the girls inside, where an armoured guard sat, solid and unmoving. Another man, elderly, frail, and emotionless, sat across from the guard. He barely acknowledged the girls as they entered. Once moving, however, he began to talk.

"How much do you know about cleaning?" he asked, avoiding eye contact with either of the girls.

"I don't clean," Toph stated, her ferocity lingering in the air. Born of the Bei Fong family, she'd led a privileged life-style. And her hygiene was lacking even then. She raised her eyebrows at the old man.

"I … I can clean," Katara offered. She glanced at Toph. "It's not exactly _complicated_." Her servants garb itched, the red clashing with her eyes. It would be easy, disguised as a servant; many like her had remained in the fire nation even after the war, for there was plenty of work and money to be had in the heart of the palace.

She wore a red robe, without sleeves, with a belt tied loosely about her. Her hair was pulled back loosely in a bun, and she looked every inch the fire nation servant. But she felt none of it.

"Stuff it, Sugar Queen," was Toph's acidic reply.

"You'll be serving around the Palace – cleaning, cooking, whatever you can do, you will be enlisted to do. You know why you are here. You know what your job is. The war chamber needs much cleaning, you should know. Letters must be sent through the servants, but you are to remain as discreet and nondescript as possible. Attract no attention to yourself. Do not cause trouble. You may find me in the nearby town, on the West end, at the first strike of Friday. Call me Tsi." He nodded as they reached the palace, and gestured for them to get off.

-x-

As soon as they were out of earshot, the girls looked at each other. "I don't trust him," Toph put out. "We don't know him. And I am _not_ cleaning!" The paved ground was made of a rich stone, and ladies of every kind walked past them, and paid no notice to the two benders. One stepped on Katara's left foot. Toph stepped on the right one to keep her from crying out.

Footsore and crabby, not to mention confused, the pair reached the doors, and seeing no other alternative, turned toward the closest guard.

"Good day, sir," Katara said, awkwardly bowing. "We're new servants here, and we seem to have lost our way… could you possibly help us?"

He blankly looked at the girl. Katara wondered if the bow had been too much. She fluttered her eyelashes and looked up at the man expectantly. He had opened his mouth to reply when a loud shout echoed through the halls.

"Get out of my way, filth! Do you know who I am? Have you seen Azula? Does anyone know _anything_?" The menacing figure was making his way straight to the door, which Katara and Toph were standing in the middle of. He wore a long red robe, and his face was turned away, shouting orders at his guards. His muscular stature was reflected in the way he walked, in the assurance with which he strode through the halls. Katara dreamily admired him, forgetting where she was and who she was supposed to be, and merely letting her rampant hormones take control.

While Katara was undressing him with her eyes, he turned and looked her straight on. Petrified by fear, she did not move.

She looked into the eyes of Prince Zuko.

-x-

**A/N: **I know, I know… really dull  But I promise it will get more exciting! All leading up to the action ;)


	2. Chapter 2: Golden Light

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, etc etc, I just wish I did.

-x-

"Katara, _move_." Toph shoved Katara out of the way of the Prince, who hadn't recognized the girl. Katara's face burned red, and she looked at her feet, which were bare, dirty, and red. Toph smirked. "Next time you want to check out royalty, make sure you're not standing in their way first."

"Thanks for the advice, I'll remember that," Katara muttered. The guard, meanwhile, pointed in the direction of a small door in the wall.

"You go through there. You'll meet with Ara; she supervises the servants," he stated, and then turned back, while the Prince rampaged down the path.

The girls nodded and scurried away.

-x-

Ara was short, wiry, young, and intimidating. She glared at the girls when they entered the kitchen. "No one said anything about new servants." She looked them over. "Can you clean?"

Katara nodded profusely, jabbing Toph with her elbow. Toph sighed and shrugged.

"Well, I have some work for you to do. The courtyard needs scrubbing, but right now it's filled with people. Around six, they'll clear out to retire to their rooms and eat dinner. There's a masquerade ball tonight, so they'll all be plenty busy in the ball room, and the courtyard will be empty. Until then, you might as well see where you're going to be sleeping." She led the girls down a narrow hallway, littered with brooms and dirt, puddles lining buckets sloshing with dirty water. Toph's nose was visibly wrinkled in disgust.

"You'll be sleeping here with the other servants. Here are two empty beds." The 'beds' were actually small mattresses on the floor, with coarse cloths dumped on top. A midnight black cat was curled up on one of them, and stretched contently when the girls were left to their own devices. Toph went to throw herself onto the bed, and nearly fell off when she landed on the cat. Ara coughed, and told them that there were two rooms that needed cleaning. Then she departed.

Katara laughed maliciously. "Good job." The cat sat on Toph's lap, purring and nuzzling her arm. Rigidly, Toph tried to squirm away from it. Katara threw herself on the other bed.

_Aughhh, that is so embarrassing. So embarrassing! Zuko! Seriously! _She flopped over, groaning in disgust. Toph squirmed over, so they could talk quietly without being heard.

"We could sneak into the masquerade ball. Everyone will be in disguise, and these nobles just don't know when to shut up. We could skulk around, pretend to be serving. Cleaning the courtyard will be easy; you're a _waterbender_. No one pays attention to the servants, anyway."

Katara raised her eyebrows. "Toph, I never knew you were so _sneaky_. I thought you were just here so Sokka could be assured I wouldn't be sexually harassed, or experience the horrible sensation of falling in love."

"I have many talents."

-x-

Zuko scowled at the room. His sister, the Fire Lady, Azula, was perched on her throne, telling him exactly why he wasn't allowed in the war chamber.

"You do, after all, have a bit of a… habit … with talking out of turn," she sneered, smiling maliciously at his frustration.

"You're planning something! You're planning something, and you won't tell me what. It's peace time! What could be so important that I'm not allowed in?" Zuko threw up his hands, pacing in a circle around the room. _I know you're plotting something. I know you have been. But I don't know why you won't let me help you._

"Zuzu, I'm tired. You should go back to your rooms. Go spend some time with your wife."

His golden eyes glinted with malice as he left the room, staring daggers at his sister.

-x-

Katara was busy cleaning one of the two rooms. It was strewn with papers, ink, and broken glass. Warily, she wondered who stayed in the room, and seriously contemplated what would happen to her if the owner walked in. She picked up some of the stray papers, with scribbled dialect on them.

" … _no, I don't think they suspect anything. We've been nothing but the most perfect allies since the war ended. They won't know what hit them…" _

_Shit._ Katara quickly slid the piece of paper underneath her belt, hurriedly throwing the rest of the papers into a pile, quickly neatening them, when the handle on the door began to turn. She leaped across the room, and pretended to be straightening the bedcovers, when someone walked in.

Keeping her eyes trained on the ground, she caught a glimpse of the person. _My luck sucks, _she thought to herself.

"What are you doing in here?" barked the Prince. He glanced over at the papers, neatly arranged. "Were you going through my things?" Katara shook her head profusely.

"I was just sent here to clean, please, I don't want any trouble. Excuse me, your grace." And with that she bowed and quickly ran out of the room, tripping down stairs on her way back to the servant's quarters. Breathing heavily, she slouched against a wall.

_So he's planning something. It figures. Bastard_, she mused, wondering how long it would take Toph to finish up. She looked at her scrap of paper again. Carefully tucking it away, she continued down the hallway, almost running into Ara. "Already done?" she asked, a frown already on her face.

"I did the best I could, I really did, but Z… the Prince walked in, and started yelling, and –" she sputtered out excuses, looking up at Ara, who rolled her eyes.

"You're not the first person that's happened to. He's not exactly a sociable guy. Ever since he got married to that girl, he's gotten more and more cryptic. They don't get along."

Katara had to stifle a laugh. _Married? Hahahahahahahhaa. _Ara noticed that she was bemused, and lightly hit her on the side of the head. "Be careful who you laugh at." And then she disappeared.

-x-

Toph rolled in an hour later, exhausted, and wet. "The entire room was _wet_. I could have really used your help, but you weren't in the other room. Cheery-Pansy-Pants was, though."

Katara bent the water out of Toph's clothing. "Yeah, 'Cheery-Pansy-Pants' wanted to know what I was doing cleaning his room. Like it didn't need to be cleaned, he's obviously got anger issues. And… I found this." She showed the piece of paper to Toph.

"It doesn't surprise me. We should go to this ball. I've got a couple of masks." Katara gave Toph a queer look.

"Where did you get the masks from?"

"I have my ways."

-x-

Having used waterbending and earthbending to clear the courtyard of all debris and miscellaneous trash, the girls threw the masks on. They were nondescript, a simple black with red embellishments.

"We don't look a thing like Fire Nation nobility. We look exactly like servants. With masks on," Katara giggled. "I don't suppose you stole a couple dresses, too?"

"I never said I stole the masks. Come on; we'll just help serve food. Through this alley, let's go, or we'll be late." They walked down a dark alley, linking the courtyard to the back entrance to the ball room. Orange light filtered out from the windows, casting a magical glow to the night. _I would appreciate this if I wasn't a servant_. The palace had a rich architecture, old and brilliant. Their footsteps echoed on the cold stones.

Slowly, they slid up to the door, gently pushing it open. Inside, there was a scattering of servants, including Ara. "That was quick," she remarked, and thrust two trays in their hands, pushing them through the doorway, hidden by a tapestry.

The two girls were thrust into the light, into the swirling mass of dresses, into the brilliant dances so elegantly pulled off, so thoroughly practiced. Bewitched by the sea of fiery red, Katara gazed wordlessly. Slowly she came out of her stupor, and began to circulate the room, offering the… things… on the tray to those loitering along the edges. Bowing and circulating, she was looked over by nearly everyone she passed. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed that Toph was across the room, offering food to a short old man.

Ahead of Katara, there was a small group of noblemen, quietly chattering. Next to them were Prince Zuko and his sister, Fire Lady Azula. Slowly, she made her way to the noblemen, and carefully offered them some food. They graciously accepted, eying her over.

"Such a young thing like you, what are you doing as a servant here?" The man leered at her. She felt self conscious, and tried to bow to him and walk away. "I don't bite, come and talk." It was a command, not a request, and Katara turned around to face him.

"I need the money, sir." She kept her eyes down. The man stepped closer to her, breathing on her neck. "If you'll please excuse me, I really have to go…"

His hand had reached her shoulder and was working its way down. Startled, Katara leaped back, throwing the tray into his face and screeching simultaneously. "How _dare_ you, you filthy old –"

Too late, Katara remembered where she was, and saw a sea of golden eyes bearing down on her, as well as Toph's clear expression of distress. The nobleman was glaring at her, various food items dripping off his face. "Little swine. I'll have you arrested for assaulting me!" Quickly, guards swarmed around Katara, grabbing her firmly by her upper arms, dragging her out of the ballroom, while Toph looked on hopelessly.

The Fire Lady was emotionless at this sudden turn of events, as was her brother. They turned away from the struggle going on, the screaming water bender, and continued their conversation.

Katara watched hopelessly as she was dragged far away, her feet smarting from the rough of the ground, her senses revolting as she was smacked hard on the side of the head, where she lost consciousness completely.

-x-

**A/N: **Oh, someone just _had_ to get into trouble, didn't they? It's too boring if they just skulk in corners. Sokka's going to be one concerned older brother when he finds out…


End file.
